Category Archives: Politics

It’s been a long (and busy) day but it’s also been a fun one – although it’s not ending well! I was up at ‘sparrow fart’ this morning in order to make my way from our hotel in Canning Town to my first port of call – London Bridge station. I still can’t get over how much that place has changed in the past few years. It’s unrecognisable now compared to the cramped, claustrophobic station of old.

The community rail volunteers and staff gave out hundreds of leaflets and answered questions from the stream of visitors to their stall, which included an old friend, Network Rail’s Chris Denham (on Twitter as @KentishHack).

Fortified by coffee I spent the rest of the day visiting and taking pictures of events at St Pancras, Liverpool St, Paddington, Waterloo and Kings Cross. There were some brilliant stalls that were as entertaining as they were informative, so here’s a small selection of pictures from the day.

Network Rail’s Chris Denham came along and said hello (whilst picking up several leaflets) at London Bridge this morning.

Kent Community Rail Partnership had their stall on the SE Trains platforms at St Pancras station. Like many groups, their ‘goodie bags’ proved very popular.

At Paddington you could join in and sing a sea-shanty, take a selfie or collect one of their fabulous seasalt goodie bags.

Over at Liverpool St there was a huge amount of info available on Britain’s scenic railways, including the East Suffolk and Wherry lines.

Waterloo had a large stall staffed by community rail groups right across South Western Railways routes. You could also enter a competition for a vineyards tour, or just come along and listen to the band – and boogie.

Meanwhile, Kings Cross had fallen to the Roman invasion. There was chance to chat with these enactors who had some fascinating tales to tell about life in Roman Britain and Hadrian’s Wall.

Romans go home! (with apologies to Monty Python’s ‘Life of Brian’…

Now I’m heading North on a Grand Central service to Halifax which has just arrived into Doncaster 53 minutes late due to a track circuit failure in the Welwyn Garden City area. This has been quite illuminating on the very day the Government’s announced that it’s taking the Virgin Trains East Coast franchise back into Government control – in a move that’s surprised many in the industry. Labour have tried to go on the attack over this, claiming that privatisation’s been a failure. But wait, my (privatised) train’s late because of an equipment failure by the (renationalised) infrastructure provider – Network Rail? So, renationalisation’s the land of milk and honey and cure for all the railway’s ills? Give over…

As each day passes it’s becoming more and more obvious what an utter shambles Brexit is. So much so that even some of its architects are starting to make their excuses and distance themselves from the looming disaster, hence Daniel Hannan, the Tory MEP being quoted in the London Evening Standard as admitting leaving the European Union is “not working out” the way it was planned.

What makes me want to bang my head on the table in frustration at this is the fact there never was a bloody plan! Brexit was always a dream that was never achievable, and Hannan is as culpable as the others in conning people by pretending Brexit could ever work. Here’s his fantasy Brexit in full flow.

Meanwhile, in the real world, the arrogance of the Brexit fundamentalists in believing “the EU needs us more than we need them” has collided with reality. The EU hasn’t rolled over in the face of the British ‘superiority’ the Brexit fundamentalists believe in. The opposite in fact, the EU’s stuck to its position on the major issues such as access to the single market and ‘bespoke’ deals, whilst the Government has clung to fantasies and keeps kicking the can down the road rather than facing up to the truth. This was summed up rather nicely by Steve Bullock (a former British EU negotiator, who’s in a position to know what he’s talking about) on Twitter…

Part of the UK’s problem is that many people just don’t realise how the Brexit shambles is seen from outside the UK. The older generation still get their views from the likes of the Daily Mail or Express, whilst many of the younger generation don’t seem to engage with news at all. Mind you, talking of the Daily Mail, is it any wonder many people are clueless, just take a look at the Mail’s front page from yesterday, when they went full Goebbels on the news that the House of Lords had held the Government to account!

The fact that a national newspaper is describing the members of the House of Lords as “traitors in ermine” should send a shudder down the spine of any right-minded person, no matter what their political persuasion is. This is pure poison, but it’s also a reflection of the terrible political times we’re living in – as is the news from today. The Leave.EU campaign has been fined £70,000 for breaking electoral law by the Electoral Commission who’ve also referred Leave.EU chief executive Liz Bilney to the police. Are they repentant? Are they hell as like. Arron Banks called it a “politically motivated attack” which is a rich irony as that’s exactly what he’s funded – an attack on democracy!

Needless to say, the Brexit fundamentalists who claim they love democracy so much we needed to leave an ‘undemocratic’ EU are strangely silent about the obvious subversion of the democracy they’re meant to cherish.

Meanwhile, the Brexit clock continues to tick and the Brexit camp inside and outside of Government continue to cling to the delusion that everything’s going to plan. The plan they never had in the first place…

I woke up this morning to find that nothing I hadn’t expected had occurred in the local elections. To the surprise of no-one (except perhaps, party die-hards), UKIP voters had drifted back to where most of them came from in the first place – the Tory party. meanwhile Labour, the worst opposition in living memory facing the worst Government in living memory, had managed to gain 50 seats. As I type this, the Tories have actually managed to GAIN 11! In fact, all parties bar UKIP (who’ve lost 110) have gained seats! The Lib-Dems have managed to win 33 so far and the Greens just 4. The final numbers will make interesting reading, but not, I think for Labour.

That said, Corbyn supporters are busy on social media, trying to claim this is (somehow) a ‘victory’. Quite how they work that one out is a mystery. It’s like kicking at an open goal, missing, then saying “Yeah, but the ball only missed by a bit”.

Contrast these results with the final ones of the 2014 local elections (before Corbyn became Labour leader), when the Tories lost 236 and Labour gained 324.

This was the last year that Labour gained seats. In 2015 they lost 203, a further 18 in 2016 and another 382 in 2017. A grand total of 603 seats.

Here’s another result Corbynistas won’t want to hear. In May 1995, under Tony Blair, Labour won 1,802 seats whilst John Major’s Tories lost 2,018. Paddy Ashdown’s Lib-Dems picked up 487. Yes, it was all downhill from there until 2010 when Gordon Brown picked up 417 seats, but even Ed Miliband as Labour Leader managed to pick up 857 seats in 2011 and a further 823 in 2012. He then added another 291 in 2013 and 324 in 2014 before losing 203 in 2015, a fact overshadowed by his General election loss.

Here’s all the Labour’s local election results since 2010, showing the percentage of the vote and any swing.

This puts Corbyn’s results into perspective. I, like many others have no enthusiasm for him or his party now. He’s betrayed Labour supporters over Brexit and there’s no sign of that changing. The hard left seem to be in full denial of reality mode, so the charade will continue.

God help us…

UPDATE.

The final results are in and they make interesting reading.

Despite former UKIP voters heading back to the Tories they still lost 33 seats, but that’s hardly a disaster. In the light of political events that’s not a bad result. Labour are crowing about having won 77 seats, but when you consider they’re up against such a disastrous and shambolic Government, this is underachieving on a grand scale, especially when you consider that the Lib-Dems are only behind them by 2 seats. The Greens will probably be happy gaining 8 as their recent showing in the polls and performance at local elections has been poor.

From these results I’d suggest it’s pretty clear Brexit has played an important part in who people chose to vote for. The Lib-Dems did very well in some places that were heavy Leave areas, again, I’d suggest that this is an obvious sign of ‘Bregret’. Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB on Twitter) has compiled this rather useful chart which demonstrates how opinion has changed recently. Does anyone seriously think this isn’t feeding into who people choose to vote for?

The title of this blog sums up my day. It’s been a real mixture that’s not always gone to plan. I’d originally intended to spend most of it finishing off work on our bathroom which is a project that’s dragged on for months – much to the wife’s chagrin! To ensure marital harmony I’d set aside a few days to move the project on but fell foul of the Harold Macmillan doctrine (“events, dear boy, events”) to get interrupted by a work issue. I won’t name the party concerned, but it seems a former client was still using pictures that the licence for expired years ago. To their credit the new member of staff who’d taken over got in touch with me as soon as this was pointed out and we’ve got things sorted out, but I ended up trawling through old electronic databases looking for paperwork dating from 2005. The obvious moral of the story is – be good at filing!

Dusting off the archives meant that the bathroom took a backseat. Thankfully, Dawn understood so a divorce was averted!

The frustrating thing is that spring has (finally) sprung and we’ve had temperatures up in the high teens today so my shutter finger’s getting itchy – especially as the forecast is looking great for the next few days. I may need to renegotiate the T&C’s over the bathroom…

Another frustration’s been listening to news of the UK’s never ending political fcukwittery. I can honestly say I can’t remember a worse time than this since the early 1970s. Not only are both major parties embroiled in their own particular shambles – Teresa May with the Windrush backlash and Corbyn with anti-Semitism, both have right royally screwed us over in the Brexit shambles. My only hope is that a huge number of people register their displeasure in the local elections next month and send a clear message to both Labour and Tories that we’re not prepared to jump off the Brexit cliff with them – or for them. Otherwise, I can see a reverse Windrush happening as people abandon a country in (self-imposed) isolation and decline.

The more I read about the way the Government and Home Office are handling the ‘Windrush scandal’ surrounding the children of Commonwealth citizens that came to Britain In the 1960s, the more I despair of this country’s reputation. Channel 4 news have been highlighting the problem since January. This report is (quite frankly) disgusting.

People who’ve lived here for decades and thought they had the absolute right to do so are being treated appallingly. Some may even have been deported illegally, the Home Office doesn’t know and can’t be bothered to find out as it would cost too much money!

This is only part of the problem. The other part is the plight of the EU citizens caught in limbo following the Brexit referendum. There’s about 3.5 million of them. They’ve no idea what the future holds for them as no-one has a clue what the outcome of negotiations will be. Many are already leaving due to the uncertainty and the increasing hostility towards them, not just from ordinary people but authorities like the Home Office, which by any reasonable take seems at best incompetent and at worst, to be pursuing a deliberate policy of intimidation.

We shouldn’t be surprised really, who was the Home Secretary at the time policy was changed and the poisonous atmosphere towards people from other shores began to manifest itself? Step forward our current Prime Minister, Teresa May. Her culpability is explained in this very good comment piece in the London Evening Standard, where former Chancellor George Osborne is enjoying the opportunity to settle a few old scores!

Of course, all of these problems aren’t just reported in the UK media, they’re reported around the world. Teresa May’s stupid refusal to meet Caribbean heads of state to discuss the matter has been reported too – as was her climb down and apology. But it’s too late, the damage to the UK’s reputation’s been done. It’s not just the media that’s spreading the word either. Every person who’s returned to their country of origin after suffering bigotry and hostility will be telling people too. Our reputation as a decent, tolerant, welcoming country is being trashed. What was our national broadcasters response to all this? On Saturday it broadcast (in full, for the first time) Enoch Powell’s infamous ‘Rivers of blood’ speech (despite widespread criticism) making matters worse, not better. Bigotry and intolerance is fashionable again.

It makes me so, so angry.

The situation’s not going to get any better. The bigots are in charge now, both on the streets and in Government. Brexit will continue to make things worse as the shambles will continue – with the added attraction of the scandal of Cambridge Analytica, UKIP and the Leave campaign ‘buying’ the referendum result.

Later, after writing this, came the latest revelation. That the Home Office (under Teresa May) destroyed the landing cards of 1000s of Windrush arrivals that had been kept safe for decades. Then, when people enquired, told them that no official records of their arrival existed! No, they wouldn’t – you went and bloody destroyed them!

Looking on the bright side, the clocks have changed, the days are getting longer and warmer and the there’s a distinct feeling of spring in the air. I’m looking forward to being able to get out and about more and there’s some great assignments to look forward to over the course of the year.

On the less than bright side, there’s still the long-running Brexitshambles, which seems to get even more desperately stupid by the day. Despite the claims in some newspapers about how negotiations with the EU are ‘progressing’ it’s clear to anyone who pays any attention to the details that all the Government’s done is kick the can further down the road. There’s absolutely no agreement on the issues that really matter (like the Northern Ireland border) and we’re running out of time as the can goes flying again.

Meanwhile, just when we need an opposition party worthy of the name, Corbyn and Co manage to screw things up yet again. His sacking of Owen Smith for speaking out on a new Brexit referendum) was incredibly inept – and duplicitous. Of course, Corbynistas have formed their wagons into a circle around their ‘Golden Boy’ but from the comments I’m seeing across social media it’s obvious that many people who oppose Brexit but reluctantly supported Corbyn are exasperated and the scales are dropping from their eyes. Corbyn’s not part of the solution, he’s part of the problem. The scale of that problem has been made clearer by an interview that Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer gave to the Guardian. In it he sees the future of the party as more important than the country under the headline “We cannot allow Labour to break apart over Brexit”. Actually Keir, if it’s a choice between stopping Brexit or the Labour party, then it’s a no-brainer. Your party has proved to be utterly inept when it comes to providing leadership on the most important political and economic crisis to face this country since the second world war. Instead, you’ve been busy playing party politics and deceiving people. I thought Teresa May’s ‘Brexit means Brexit’ was the most vapid political slogan of recent decades, but Corbyn’s ‘jobs first Brexit’ is in the same class. It’s just another lie. There can be no ‘jobs first’ Brexit. No political party has a God-given right to exist (as UKIP has found out!). You are the servants, not the masters and you’d do well to remember that. Sadly, both main parties have put their good ahead of the nation’s. The Tories are equally culpable here.

Meanwhile, whilst Labour have dug themselves another hole and Corbyn is on the rack about anti-Semitism (again). Her majesty’s opposition are leaving the Government and the Brexit campaigners to escape scrutiny over the latest allegations surrounding Cambridge Analytica, the vote Leave campaign and the accusations that the whole campaign was void due to dirty money being channelled to fund it (link).

If we had a decent opposition worth it’s name they should be flaying the Government alive over this, but as team Corbyn actually want Brexit, they’re taking their foot off the gas as it could all be a little bit awkward.

What makes me laugh is the way Brexit supporters, many of whom used the excuse that we needed to leave the EU because it was ‘undemocratic’ are either completely silent about the allegations that the Brexit referendum was bought and subverted, or even attack those who’re exposing the story. After all, what could be more undemocratic than someone buying the result of the referendum? Talk about double-standards…

Thank God for the Guardian and Channel 4 news, as much of the rest of the media seems more intent on keeping quiet about some of these things. The BBC especially so. I’ve never bought into the argument of BBC bias before now but there’s been too much evidence emerging over the past few years that suggests not all is what it should be. The ‘walls of gammon’ (angry, elderly Brexit supporting white men) who always get to appear on Question Time, the fact Nigel Farage seemed almost a permanent fixture on the show. The revelations that the programmes ‘audience producer’ was anything but impartial and was found to be sharing Britain First posts on Facebook (links here and here) did nothing but re-inforce that feeling.

Now we find the BBC making a poor job of reporting on the Anti Brexit marches around the country yesterday. It’s not surprising that people are getting worried that the country seems to be in thrall to a small but hugely influential bunch of right-wingers at the moment. I hate to draw parallels with 1930’s Germany, but the way some sections of the media are acting, throwing around accusations of ‘betrayal’ and labelling people ‘traitors’ I can’t help but wonder…

Is the country going to sleepwalk into the looming brexitshambles? I’m beginning to think it might. Many people are still woefully ignorant of what’s around the corner and we have large sections of the media devoted to keeping them that way.

Depressing times…

But, it’s not too late. There’s no giving up and the local elections in May are an ideal opportunity for those of us who’re fighting the Brexitshambles to send a loud message by refusing to vote for the party’s that support Brexit. If Labour gets a bloody nose at the polls because people switch their votes to parties who oppose Brexit (such as the Lib-Dems and Greens) we may yet find that a few more Labour MPs rediscover their backbones. Never say never…

Forget the furore over the “was is, wasn’t it doctored ?” picture of Jeremy Corbyn used on a Newsnight set, this one is real and it speaks volumes about the way both sides of the political spectrum are lying the public over the British public over Brexit.

This photo of Corbyn has been circulated on social media by his supporters today.

His ‘say’ on Brexit, really? So, how exactly is Corbyn (who supports the UK leaving the customs union and the single market) going to stop job losses in the North-East due to Brexit?

The plain truth is he can’t – and he knows it. He’s lying to people just as much as those arch Brexiteers, Rees-Mogg and David Davis, who still pretend there’s a ‘Brexit Bonus’ and that Unicorns really do exist. This slogan is just as hollow as Corbyn’s a “Brexit for Jobs” claim.

Let’s get away from the lies and look at some cold, hard truths. According to the Governments own analysis North East England will suffer a 16% hit to GDP in the event of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit. 16%! That makes the North-East the hardest hit of any UK region! You can find a report on the figures here from Sky news (I’m using Sky as no-one can use the excuse the news is ‘biased’ as it’s from a ‘lefty’ source).

It’s not as if Corbyn isn’t aware of this, just as he’s aware that the North-East relies heavily on Japanese companies like Nissan and Hitachi to provide jobs. The Japanese have been uncharacteristically blunt about Brexit, pointing out that leaving the Customs Union and Single market poses a serious risk to their companies profitability and thus the likelihood that they will up-sticks and move into mainland Europe. The Japanese have been warning of the consequences of Brexit for years. Here’s what they were saying back in 2016.

In February 2018, the Japanese Ambassador to Britain issued this new, clear warning.

Yet Corbyn still maintains the fiction of a “Brexit for Jobs” and poses with that totally dishonest frame to con people into thinking he’s some alternative to the Tory Brexit head-bangers when (in truth), he’s cut from the same cloth. It’s just dyed a different colour…

In May, people have a choice who to vote for and what message they want to send our politicians. Don’t be fooled into thinking that Corbyn’s Labour party will save us from Brexit. They won’t, so be careful who you vote for.

Sorry for the break in blogging these past few days, I’ve been caught up with family stuff, work and cycle-training (more on which in the blog to follow)…

Today’s already been busy as we’ve picked up the ‘new’ car. Well, it’s new to us anyway!It’s an 11 month old Honda Civic that we’ve exchanged for our older 2014 model. Those three years have seen several refinements in the design of these Swindon made cars, the results of which mean it’s more economical and comfortable. Dawn loves driving it, which is just as well as I can’t: I don’t drive!

Being a passenger on the way home gave me time to think about what the future may hold for Honda’s Swindon plant because of the shambles that is Brexit. As things stand at the minute it’s looking increasingly likely that the price of new cars will rise by 10% and car plants like Swindon could face a very uncertain future. The Japanese have made it very clear that if the UK does leave the Customs Union and Single Market, leaving businesses unprofitable, they’ll be taking their businesses elsewhere. (link).

The problem is, our politicians aren’t listening. This week we’ve had a typically shambolic speech from Boris Johnson. It was lightweight, full of platitudes but absolutely devoid of any real content. We need answers about the Irish border, instead we got organic carrots. We needed to know what’s happening with the customs union, instead we got a sniggering reference to British sex-tourism in Thailand (link). It was cringe-making. The full text of the speech can be found here. Our politicians have become clowns, the problem is, the joke’s on us…

Now we have Teresa May visiting Germany, where the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel had to point out that she’s still none the wiser as to what it is the UK Government actually expects from Brexit (link). She’s not alone. It’s clear our Government has no idea either! Yet the clock is ticking ever louder. Businesses can hear it, many of us can hear it – but May’s government appears deaf. Mind you, Labour need new batteries in Corbyn’s hearing aid too!

I try to laugh, but in truth I’m angry – very angry, at the way the UK’s reputation’s being trashed on the world stage by the actions of both political parties and their spineless reluctance to be honest with people over the economic and social consequences of Brexit- not to mention their unpreparedness for what’s to come as a result of that inertia. Meanwhile, our EU neighbours aren’t. The Ducth have announced plans to recruit 750 extra customs staff to deal with the consequences of the UK leaving the Customs Union and single market (link). What are we doing? Nothing…

Because the policy is more of an aspiration, not a firm commitment. Johnson told the BBC that “I would like to see us take all diesel-only trains off the track by 2040. If that seems like an ambitious goal, it should be and I make no apology for that. After all we’re committed to ending the sales of petrol and diesel cars by 2040. If we can achieve that, then why can’t the railway aspire to a similar objective?” Once doesn’t have to be a Professor of English to spot the caveats in that.

The inherent irony here is that his Government has recently scaled back electrification of routes like the Midland Mail Line (MML) and has ordered many more diesel-electric bi-mode trains like the Hitachi Class 802s for GWR. Bi-modes are the worst of all worlds as they’re hardly energy efficient, OK, they may run on electric power for most of the trip, but then they’re carting around a lot of dead-weight in diesel engines and fuel.

This also begs questions about the 55 new CAF built Civity DMUs which are on order for Northern. Can these be converted to EMUs and (even if they can be) what does this do for the economics of the Northern franchise? Elsewhere, Porterbrook leasing are converting all-electric Class 319 trains to bi-mode by fitting them with diesel engines. The rolling stock leasing companies must be scratching their heads right now. They’ve got 1000s of older EMU vehicles coming off-lease in the next few years but without an extension of electrification, there’s nowhere to run them! Instead, we’re going to the halfway-house of bi-mode.

GWR are currently taking delivery of these Hitachi Class 800 bi-modes to replace their HST fleet. Does the Government seriously expect the MTU diesel engines to be redundant in 22 yrs time, and if so – how?

Whilst the announcement (or should that be ‘thinking aloud’) will be welcome news for companies like Alstom who have developed a Hydrogen powered train, it leaves more questions than it answers.

There’s one very noticeable omission in the ‘plan’: Freight.

The majority of the UKs railfreight is moved by powerful ‘go anywhere’ diesel locomotives. How will they be replaced by 2040 without electrifying the main freight routes? As many depots and sidings aren’t electrified train builders have fitted ‘last mile’ diesel powerpacks to electric locos. Realistically, can these be replaced by hydrogen or battery power by 2040? And what about the miles of freight lines where diesel operation’s the only viable option? Freight operators exist on very small margins as it is. How would this proposal affect the economics of their operations?

Siemens Vectron locomotives under construction in Vienna in 2016. These modular locos are can be built as diesel or electric. The version in VR livery is an electric fitted with a ‘last mile’ diesel power-pack.

The current workhorse of UK freight operators is the Class 66. Without widespread electrification, what else could deliver the power at rail needed to move heavy freight trains hundreds of miles at up to 75mph? A Canadian plan for a hydrogen powered locomotive shows that it would be two units, with the second carrying the hydrogen. Doubling the size of the locomotive increases maintenance costs and potentially leads to shorter trains due to the capacity of sidings and loops (also increasing costs).

So, I remain sceptical about the ‘plan’ as I don’t see a firm policy or long-term strategy from DfT or Ministers that will allow this to happen, which is a shame as Johnson’s aim is laudable. Recently, I blogged about the change to air quality at Paddington station which was evident now the HSTs and DMU’s were being replaced by electric traction. Sadly, with diesel bi-modes and back-tracking on electrification we seem to be going in the wrong direction.

As the shambles that is Brexit stumbles on from one train crash to another, more and more evidence is emerging that the British people are starting to wake up to the fact that the promised Brexit unicorns don’t actually exist – and never will.

The latest evidence may come from the result of a local council election in Sunderland’s Pallion ward yesterday, where the Liberal Democrats took the seat from Labour with a very sizeable swing.

Pallion is on the South bank of the River Wear and used to be known for its shipbuilding but the last yard closed in 1988. There’s still one yard which carries out ship repairs, but that’s all. Nowadays the Pallion’s a mixture of industrial estates and residential, bounded by a road ironically named European Way. It’s known as a very deprived ward with high unemployment. You can learn more about the ward from the ‘Britain Elects’ website.

Of course nowaday’s Sunderland’s known for its Nissan car plant rather than shipbuilding.

In the Brexit referendum Sunderland voted to leave the EU by 61% to 39% remain. UKIP had a strong presence in the area, even if they had no Councillors. In the 2014 local elections UKIP made their first appearance, putting up candidates in almost every ward. The election results left them in 2nd place in the vote after the Labour party – including in Pallion. UKIP played on Sunderland’s shipbuilding past, pretending that they could somehow recreate those days.

UKIP also came second in 2015 and 2016. But that was then. This is now…

The fact that the ‘will of the people’ was swinging against Brexit was picked up by the local paper as long ago as December 2016 when they ran a poll that demonstrated people had changed their minds (link). Of course, newspaper polls are notorious for their inaccuracy, most are little better than clickbait. But that’s what makes the Pallion ward vote so interesting as it’s a genuine expression of the democratic vote. Pallion had the same Labour member since 1997, so for the Lib-Dems to go from last in 2014 , leapfrogging UKIP to snatch the seat is amazing. That UKIP are a car-crash nowadays doesn’t account for the massive swing to the Lib-Dems, as Labour and the Tories have lost vote share too. Could a factor be Brexit? Why did both former UKIP and Tory voters switch to the Lib-Dems?

Is anyone in Conservative Central Office or Labour headquarters listening? Both parties are seemingly hell-bent on pursuing Brexit, whatever the cost, but they would be foolish in the extreme to ignore results like this. This is the Brexit heartlands remember, so where’s their support gone? To the one party that’s made it absolutely clear it opposes Brexit!

I wonder how many more results like this we’ll be seeing as the Brexit shambles continues and the consequences can no longer be ignored or denied?